death at the rovers.
by bob osborne. 04.05.10.
Sounds from the Other City. Rovers Return.
Death to the Strange.
Ok I’ll readily admit I hadn’t quite worked out
what Death to the Strange were about until this afternoon’s gig. It’s
safe to say therefore that this is the performance where I got
what they were up to. Second up on the Salford Musicians Collective
roster for Sounds from the
Other City 2010 the band immediately grab the
attention with John Lowndes and Daniel Clarke’s harmonies. Guitars are
tightly interwoven over Jamie Wilson and Rob Sewell’s effortless rhythm.
The unique quality for me though is Rob Sewell’s sonic manipulation
taking the band to places which their contemporaries have not dared
venture.
The melodic songs are redolent of the surge of
alt.folk Americana that is swimming around the musical ether at the
moment but there is something altogether a little more edgy and
interesting about this band that make those comparisons a touch lazy.
When the band move into a minor key, and scatter the soundscape with
eerie sounds and Barry-esque picked guitar you realise something special
is going on. I will confess that by this time the excellent “Coronation
Street” bitter had started to interfere with my perceptual aura but I do
recall smiling a lot.
At times you feel you are in L.A. on a broad
highway heading south for New Mexico but reality hits you when you look
out the window and see Chapel Street in the background......the
highlight is the wonderful melody of
“On the Clock” which begs for a
mainstream release. About 25 minutes in the band kick into a memorable
“Drink and the Devil” which is the damascene moment when you clock that
the band are something more than a group with some well sung songs. The
cinematic strength of the song structure echoes a variety of influences
gelling into a definitive unique sound – everything from film
soundtracks to white boy rap mixed with sultry rhythm. Rather fine
indeed.
This band can only go from strength to strength.
Daniel Clarke: guitar/vocals;
John Lowndes: guitar/ vocals;
Jamie Wilson: drums/percussion;
Adam Hart: bass/mandolin/keys;
Rob Sewell: synths/ pads/ keys/ noises.
http://www.myspace.com/deathtothestrange